Friday, April 21, 2017

French indifference to their own existence was taught to them by Germans. Hitler had no trouble defeating France in 1940: 'Most Frenchmen seem to regard the total collapse of their country with a resignation that has the appearance of indifference. The German propaganda machine is working on this state of mind'-1940, Times of London

cars, wagons, bicycles or simply on foot, the desperate
refugees took with them what few possessions they could salvage. It
wasn't long before the roads were impassable to the French troops who
were headed north in an attempt to reach the battlefield.

The ultimate humiliation came at the signing of the armistice on June
22. The French had maintained as a memorial the railroad car in which
the armistice ending World War I had been signed twenty-two years
earlier. It occupied a hallowed space within a small forest north of
Paris. Hitler insisted that France's capitulation to his Nazi
jauggernaught be formally acknowledged in the same railroad car at the
same spot.

There is little interest among the ordinary people in the maneuvers of the Petain
Government. The Marshal himself is not looked upon with any enthusiasm. His achievements
as a soldier in the last War are generally recognized, but his last minute entry
into politics makes little stir in the Frenchman's heart. On the other hand Laval [a
lieutenant of Petain's and the real head of the government],
who has never been popular, excites almost general distaste..."Conditions in Vichy France"Vichy, for a nation which has reached the nadir
in its history,gives an excellent picture of a certain French state of mind. Naturally the place is crowded beyond capacity. It is full of
well-to-do refugees from occupied France, as well as French officers,
immaculately accoutered, and political aspirants. They crowd the cafes,
hotels and boulevards. The refugees and officers are enjoying the calm
and the mild pleasures to be had there.

The aspirants are busily fishing in the stirring political pool in the
hope of finding an agreeable job. There is adequate food for those who
can afford to buy it, always provided that you are not a butter lover or
do not expect to find a wide selection of luxuries in the shops. Here
is little evidence that France has suffered one of the greatest defeats
in her history. Outside the boundaries of this temporary capital, food
is not so plentiful, yet in a minor degree the same spirit of
indifference exists.The men are returning fairly quickly to their homes
and to the harvests which have been in many cases ruined by
inattention. But it is hard to discover any serious attempt to meet the
formidable problems which are threatening the Vichy Government."

Conditions in Occupied France

"The opinion is often expressed that occupied
France is in a much better shape, in spite of all the devastation, than
the unoccupied territory. The Germans for many reasons are trying to
whip into shape that part of the country which has fallen into their
sphere of influence. Their problem is especially serious.

North of Paris there exists a desert. Towns like Abbeville, Amiens,
Cambrai, Arras, and scores of others are very largely destroyed, though
in most places the churches and the cathedrals seem to be intact. The
villages are deserted, the farmsteads empty.

Crops are rotting on the ground. The first wave of the German Army
consumed everything. It was, in fact, until a week or two ago a land of
the dead, metaphorically and literally, since the corpses of men and
animals still littered the ground. Now the people are slowly creeping
back, only to find that there is little to eat and less to do.
Everywhere the first pick of what is going falls to the army of
occupation, the second to those who work for their German masters, the
scanty crumbs that remain are left for those who fulfill neither of
these conditions."

Treatment of British Prisoners"One case of refined cruelty was witnessed at
Malines, where a body of British prisoners were being marched east. They
were in full uniform except for their tin hats. These had been replaced
by a variegated assortment of every kind of headgear, male or female:
bowler hats, toppers, caps, homburgs, women's bonnets, berets, plumed
Ascot models. A pathetically ridiculous spectacle. Its only purpose
could have been to make the weary men look clownish or to suggest to the
French inhabitants that British troops had been looting the shops.
Other tales of discrimination between British and French prisoners of
war are common. Nevertheless, on the whole, the treatment of prisoners
whose care is left to the second-line troops is not too bad."........ "References:

The book Marseille sous l’occupation by Lucien Gaillard says
that the man in photo is Monsieur Jerôme Barzetti, and it’s taken in
Marseilles on February 20, 1941.There are many contradicts about the
exact date when the photo was taken, it’s probably in 1940. The photo
first appeared in print in Life Magazine in their 3 March 1941 issue.
The magazine caption identifies it as “a Frenchman sheds tears of
patriotic grief as the flags of his country’s last regiments are exiled
to Africa.” On this video footage
(00:26) we can see the crying Frenchman as the French troops march on
their way out of France. Judging by the footage, this picture was not
taken in Paris (as it is claimed by many sources)."